Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha)

After the demise of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), his beloved daughter Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) fell ill. The illness lasted for six months and finally lead to her death. During this illness, she said to Asmaa’ bintu ‘Umais (radhiyallahu ‘anha): “There is something which is aggravating my sickness. I am worried that after my death, when I am wrapped in my kafan (burial cloth), the shape of my body will be exposed to men”. Asmaa’ (radhiyallahu ‘anha) comforted her saying that she had observed in Abyssinia that they used a wooden frame (bier) draped with cloth. Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) requested her to show her how it is made. When she saw it, she was elated. In fact, this was the only occasion she smiled in the six months she lived after the demise of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). (Haakim vol. 3, pg. 162 & Al-Istee‘aab vol. 4, pg. 451)       Lesson: She lived a life of complete modesty and wished to die with complete modesty as well. Together with having the wooden frame, she insisted that her burial take place at night, so that the gaze of any strange man may not fall on her dead body. May Allah Ta‘ala shower His choicest mercies on her and bless us with even a small fraction of her modesty.